


Cicuta

by Hornet394



Series: From Ashes to Ashes [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - MAMA (Music Video), Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 10:40:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11896026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hornet394/pseuds/Hornet394
Summary: Yifan knows who caused the end of the world. Yifan knows the mind that caused all the destruction. Yifan knows, because he used to love him.





	Cicuta

The end of the world does not come with a bang. There are no bombs, there are no fighting, there are no screams. There is no heavenly judgement, there is no heavenly punishment. There are no zombies, no mutants, no aliens.

It comes with the dying of a single flower.

It had been an ordinary day. EXO was lounging around, waiting for a bad guy to show up. Yifan had been training in the home gym when Baekhyun rushed in.

“Yixing hyung cut himself.”

Yifan continues running on the machine. It wasn’t something new, Yixing getting hurt. The younger man had always been clumsy, especially with all the flowers and plants he liked to take care of.

“Yixing hyung _cut_ himself, and _he’s not healing himself._ ”

 

//

 

The post-apocalyptic world is no place for mortals. The only ones left are the meta-humans, Awakening left and right in the wake of the terror.

The end of the world comes gradually, like a virus. It _is_ a virus, one that pollutes the cement, the concrete, the food, the water, the soil, the air. You die or you evolve.

“It’s not working, Yifan,” Junmyeon stutters out everytime they pass through _that_ room, “The Tree of Life is dying.”

And the whole world is dying with it.

 

//

 

EXO quickly reacts when the wars begins. They have resources, well-sustained and strong fortress walls, let alone the 9 powerful meta-humans who could squash any army that dared challenge EXO’s supremacy.

What they cannot do, however, is heal, and they watch as the humans wither away in front of their eyes.

Their ranks swell quickly as meta-humans crop up everywhere. Soon, there are bases, very much like their own, spiralling up, and war began anew.

But EXO has always prevailed, and they alone have their eyes on the most important task. Power is not important in a dying world. How to _save_ a dying world, a dying tree, is more important.

Buildings are reduced to rubble, rubble to ashes. There are signs of carnage everywhere. Collapsed bridges, fallen playgrounds, mutant animals and plants thriving, reclaiming their earth. EXO’s highest priority has always been sustaining the Tree of Life, for there can be no future without the Tree.

And it’s true. There are no sustainable methods for survival. No plants can be grown, no animals can be bred. Perhaps an edible plant pops up, but then it goes extinct. It is as if the whole world is decaying, getting worse and worse, leaving no space for recovery. More and more people are choking, suffocating from the very air they breathe in.

Eventually Tao finds the key to stopping the Tree from dying. And from his investigations jumping through time, EXO uncovers more and more hints, more and more secrets, until they arrive at a stunning conclusion.

As if to prove them right, he appears once again.

 

//

 

Luhan has always been EXO’s arch-nemesis. Him and his sidekick, Sehun, were one of the toughest meta-villains EXO has had to face, and had failed time over time to capture.

Meta-human fights are not completely like the ones in comics. There were no frequent exchanging of blows, there were no explosions, no near-death experiences. It is almost always over in split seconds, a sheer overwhelming force crushing the other. And EXO were strong, all 10 of them, in their own ways. The meta-villains never really had the chance.

It had always been a stalemate when it came to Luhan, however. Luhan may have Awakened a gift over the mind, but he cannot fight with Junmyeon’s water power, which could evaporate him in one go. Junmyeon, on the other hand, was also wary of Luhan. Whose control over their gift was better? Was Junmyeon’s mind faster, or Luhan’s? Could he take Luhan down before Luhan crushed his mind?

No one knows, and it is clear that neither Junmyeon and Luhan want to find out.

 

//

 

When Yixing appears in the middle of the in the middle of the abandoned military encampment, he has a gas mask on.

It is symbolic - with Yixing’s Awakened gift, he has no need for protection from the mutant flowers that ooze out poisonous pollen that now inhabit the building.

The gas mask may cover his features, but there is no doubt to the 5 of them there that it was Yixing who was standing in front of them.

Yifan has his own face mask on, one that only shows his eyes. His hood is up, but he knows Yixing can see him, he knows Yixing can recognize him.

“It is true, then?” Baekhyun whispers next to Yifan.

“He’s still Yixing.” Yifan begins to say, but then Baekhyun takes a step forward, and Yixing holds a hand out and snaps his fingers.

Baekhyun’s outstretched hand, ready to cast a spell, is now withering, turning old, brittle, and the shocked gasp that tears out of Yifan’s throat is echoed through everyone's' mouth.

Tao is quick to react, throwing a time bubble over all of them before Yixing’s control over life itself can do any more damage.

It was supposed to be a simple in and out mission. Retrieve the reactor, destroy the mutant plant, go.

Junmyeon steps forward, hand outstretched, and then someone pops into view and Junmyeon freezes, his blue eyes losing focus.

Almost immediately Chanyeol jumps to his lover’s defense, and flames clash straight into blades made of wind.

“Fancy meeting you here, Luhan.” Junmyeon says calmly, now that he’s shaken off Luhan’s brief grip on his mind.

“The pleasure is mine, really.” Luhan’s smirk widens even further. Like Yixing, he needs no mask, nor does Sehun, because they are right next to the Healer.

And how Yifan’s blood _boils_ at the way Sehun and Luhan are draped over Yixing, their limbs swallowing Yixing’s slender frames up, trapping him, encasing him, as he stands rigid.

A flashbang of light, and as soon as Yifan manages to open his eyes Baekhyun is behind Luhan, Yixing, and Sehun, Yixing’s gas mask in his hands.

Another flash, and Yifan groans again as the headache intensifies. He had never felt this before, the full extent of Baekhyun’s abilities, he had never understood when people like Jongdae and Junmyeon complained.

He hadn’t needed to, because Yixing would always be by his side.

“Hiding behind that fucking mask doesn’t mean we can’t see who you are!” Baekhyun is absolutely _fuming._ He had been Yixing’s favourite member in EXO, his favourite little brother.

Yifan used to be jealous of the attention Yixing would give Baekhyun, and Baekhyun would just smirk at Yifan, challenging him. Now he just wanted those days back.

And it had still been Yixing. For countless nights Yifan had traced those features with his fingers, Yixing’s smiles, his tears, his cries and moans - these were all imprinted deeply in Yifan’s mind, but Yifan wanted more, he needed more.

He thought he had Yixing, but when he woke up to a cold bed and a cold, silent garden those months ago, he had finally realized that he could never get enough of Zhang Yixing.

And it still is Yixing. A human puppet of Yixing, perhaps. But it is still Yixing.

Now Yixing’s eyes are dead as they stare at Yifan. “My my, careful with the merchandise,” Luhan laughs, “It took so long for me to get this precious healer with me.”

“What did you do to him?” Chanyeol spits, fire burning in his palms again. Junmyeon sidles closer to Yifan, grabbing him by the wrist. Cold water seeps across Yifan’s skin, sating him, cooling the dragon lying within his blood.

“Just a little something intricate, of the higher degree.” Luhan purrs, resting his hand on the side of Yixing’s face, tracing Yixing’s dry and cracked lips with his finger. “It is such a delight to show Yixing the light of our ways.”

Junmyeon’s grip on Yifan’s wrist is starting to hurt, and he shakes the leader off hastily.

 _Do you not like it?_ Luhan’s voice echoes in Yifan’s mind like a curse, a blade against his throat, and then Junmyeon is dashing towards Luhan, palms outstretched, and then Chanyeol and Sehun are clashing again.

Then Yixing raises a hand, and he snaps his fingers.

Instantly the building begins to tremble, and everything around them begins to decay. The mutant flowers that are scattered all across the walls and ceilings start to quiver, then they explode.

The smallest blooms go first, poisonous green mucus is all is left of them. Instantly the acidic properties of them burns a hole straight through the cement, and there are tilted shrieks below them. Yifan recognizes its source as the other meta-humans that have sworn allegiance to EXO, investigating the bottom floors.

“He’s going to bring the whole building down!” Chanyeol cries, and his next flames dive straight for Yixing.

Without conscious thought, Yifan rips into his Awakened persona, and his claws wrap around his unresisting lover.

 

//

 

_“Yifan! You scared me!” Yixing shrieks when Yifan hugs him from behind. “See, I cut myself.” Yixing whines in fake accusation, thrusting his finger in front of Yifan’s face._

_Laughing, Yifan plants a light kiss on top of it, sucking the blood away and revealing the flawless skin underneath._

_“There, beautiful again,” He soothes, pecking Yixing’s lips. “You care more about your plants than me, Xing, have you forgotten it’s time for dinner? Kyungsoo will really poison us if we’re late again.”_

_“Sorry baby,” Yixing giggles, clearly not apologetic, “I was distracted by my flowers.”_

_“Of course you were,” Yifan snorts, putting his arms on Yixing’s shoulders and steering him away from the small garden. The Tree of Life shakes its leaves, as if bidding goodbye to them._

_“It’s just - they’re so full of_ life _!” Yixing exclaims, shrugging Yifan’s hands off and instead, threading his left hand into Yifan’s right. “Plants don’t move, not really, they don’t speak, they don’t run, they don’t hunt, they don’t mate, their sole existence is just_ to live _! They are just so fascinatingly filled with_ life! _"_

_You are, Yifan had wanted to say, but he also didn’t want to interrupt Yixing. Yixing was the most beautiful like this. Full of love, affection, compassion, full of life._

 

//

 

The best Tao can do is wrap Baekhyun’s hand in a time bubble, but what had happened to him has already spread like wildfire among the ranks.

People are unhappy. Minseok isn’t happy, either. No one knows what the extent of damage Yixing’s gift can cause.

When Yifan goes into Junmyeon’s office, it’s an absolute mess. Chanyeol is standing by the window, staring out into the crude settlements the other meta-humans of EXO have built for themselves

An unlit cigarette is in between his fingers. Tobacco is a luxury, and Chanyeol is saving this last stick for when everything is over.

“It’s confirmed, then?” Yifan asks, a strange calmness settling over his heart as he begins to tidy up the papers on Junmyeon’s table. Chanyeol shrugs, not turning to face Yifan. “That’s all we got.”

“Have you told the others yet?”

Chanyeol presses a kiss to the end of his cigarette, and puts it back in the box in his pocket. “Hyung doesn’t want panic. It’ll just be the few of us.”

“For what?” Yifan frowns.

“Interrogation, of course.” Chanyeol states, “Yixi- he... hasn’t healed himself from your wounds yet. But...”

Chanyeol clears his throat. “Junmyeon doesn’t want you there.”

“I should be.” Yifan says, and Chanyeol’s head snaps to him in alarm. Yifan clears his throat as well, calms his raised voice. “I need to be there, Chanyeol. Where is Junmyeon, anyway?”

Chanyeol scoffs, brushing a hand through his red hair and he steps away from the window. “He’s down there with Yixing right now. You should go now.”

“I should go.” Yifan repeats, and Chanyeol sighs loudly. Wordlessly, Yifan lets Chanyeol push him out of the room and down the stairs.

 

//

 

Yixing is not in a good shape, and it takes everything in Yifan’s body not to rush over and gather his lover in his arms, it takes everything to not kiss his eyes, his nose, his lips, his forehead, his hands, his fingertips.

The blood has dried and crusted. Some of it is clinging to the lashes of Yixing’s left eye. The clothes given to Yixing to change into - Yifan had took them out of their wardrobe - lie in a neatly folded stack where Chanyeol must have left them.

Yixing is in still in the same outfit he had been in the building. Luhan must have given it to him. He looks nice in it, Yifan admits, now that he has a proper look. White shirt, grey suit jacket and pants. Black, fingerless gloves. It is torn, but still recognizable.

Yifan can see it, where his claws had dug into pale skin. Where Yifan had hurt Yifan.

Chanyeol knocks on the glass pane on the door of the cell, and Junmyeon looks up from where he sits opposite Yixing in the cell. His eyes flit to Yifan briefly, then back to Chanyeol, as if accusing him of bringing Yifan here, but he snaps his fingers and the door releases.

There is a palpable tension simmering inside the cell, one that was absent outside. Junmyeon snaps his fingers again and the door slides shut, as if sealing the unpleasantness of this room within.

It doesn’t really work that way, because Yifan shuts his eyes and the image of his Yixing puppet is already seared into the back of his eyelids.

Yixing doesn’t bat an eyelid to the sudden intrusions. Chanyeol moves to talk to Junmyeon, and, restless, Yifan goes sit on the bench that lines the cell wall.

It’s only when the door clicks shut that Yifan is aware that Chanyeol and Junmyeon have left the room. He knows they are just outside, staring in from the one-sided glass, but Yifan feels alone. He is unnerved by being alone with a lover he has never known.

Still, Yixing remains sitting on the chair in the middle of the room, eyes focused on the wall. The chair in front of him, where Junmyeon has sat, has been vacated, but Yifan cannot bring himself to sit down there. He cannot bring himself to stare into Yixing’s eyes and be reminded of the fact that Yixing is not doing the same.

He looks down, and there are pots of plants surrounding Yixing. They are all wilted, drained, deceased, yellowed, although Yifan had painstakingly watered them just this morning. They are the plants closest to the Tree of Life, the plants Yixing had given extra care to as  _"they kept the Tree company"_.

“Why did you leave me?”

He finally asks, unable to bear the silence.

Now Yixing turns to face him, but Yifan wishes that he hadn’t. Yifan loves every inch of this man, but right now, Yixing scared him so, so much.

“Why?” He makes himself asks again.

Was I not good enough?

Yixing lowers his eyes, as if in an admission of guilt, but there is no trace of it in his eyes.

“Luhan talked to you, didn’t he?”

A look to the left.

“What did he say?”

Yixing’s eyes stared straight into Yifan’s again.

“We were supposed to save the world, not kill it,” Yifan leans forward and pleads, staring at Yixing’s chin. “You wanted to save everyone, didn’t you? I- I didn’t do anything, nothing was going on, and you just- just tell me why? Did our promises mean nothing? Do you remember what we’ve been through? Not- not just us, but EXO, us. Do you remember _who you are_?”

Yixing’s feet shift slightly, and he stares back at Yifan again.

“What has Luhan done to you?” Yifan cries, now unable to stay still on the bench, but unable to move a single inch closer to his lover. He punches the wall and his knuckles split instantly on the reinforced cement. The dragon inside is restless again.  Yifan looks to Yixing, blood dripping from his curled up fingers to the floor, hoping for a reaction, any sort of reaction, but he is greeted with silence.

“Did you destroy the world?” He finally asks, and Yixing opens his mouth.

“Yes.” His voice is the same, but the words, the tone, they are foreign.

“It is inevitable.” Yixing says in a monotone, his lips moving. “It is inevitable, and we are it's harbinger.”

“We? You and Luhan?” Yifan demands, unnerved by the words coming from a familiar voice, but yet he does not understand a single word.

“Meta-humans are the cancer.” Yixing continues, as if he had not heard what Yifan had requested. “We cannot heal if the cancer exists.”

“Who is ‘We’?” Yifan breaks out of the hold Yixing has over him and lunges forward, grabbing Yixing by the collar.

They are so very close, Yixing and Yifan, but Yifan immediately drops his grip on Yixing as if he has been burnt, because up close he can stare into Yixing’s eyes, really _stare_ into them, and there’s nothing familiar. He staggers backwards and he hits the wall, and the pain releases him from the vortex Yixing has casted on him.

Instead all he can see is blood.

“We destroy the cancer.” Yixing continues without any interruption, “We cannot heal when the cancer exists. We must be destroyed.”

“You’re not making any sense,” YIfan pleads, “You’re- you’ve destroyed the _world_. You- you were supposed to _protect_ it, we are to _save_ it, what on _earth_ are you talking about?”

“I am protecting it.” Yixing says, this time, there is a tilt in his voice, the only sort of emotion that he has shown so far. “I destroy the cancer. I cleanse the world.”

“You are destroying life.” Yifan closes his eyes, he’s not talking to Yixing, he’s not, this is a puppet, a robot, a fake. “You are destroying the _life_ that you are made of. Do you remember who you are, Yixing? Do you remember me?”

Eyes still closed, he hears the answer.

“You are the harbinger, and I am the cure.”

 

//

 

As soon as he comes out, Chanyeol is dabbing alcohol onto the wounds. He is not gentle or particularly skilled.

Yixing is now back in the same position Junmyeon had left him in, eyes staring at a certain spot in the wall, and what is actually the one-sided glass. It’s almost like he knows there is someone behind, watching him like an exhibit in the zoo.

One of the plants by Yixing’s right foot crumbles into dust.

“You know how we can stop this.” Junmyeon murmurs, coming to stand next to Yifan. “We may not be able to reverse the situation, but at least we stop it from getting worse. You and I know we must kill the man who has caused the end of the world, and you and I both know who it is.”

Yifan knows who caused the end of the world. Yifan knows the mind that caused all the destruction. Yifan knows, because he used to love him.

**Author's Note:**

> Alternatively titled "you can be a superhero if you can snap your fingers" OR "people get things done by snapping fingers"
> 
> A lovely prompt from fanxing archive @fanxingprompts~ Original link found [here](https://twitter.com/fanxingprompts/status/898907483057659905)~ Not really a fic but more of a self-indulgent drabble that has really took too long to be completed hhhh but thanks to Lo and Kira for betaing(?) my fic XD
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated~
> 
> I may write more drabbles in this universe so feel free to subscribe~


End file.
